Zion Australia Adelaide Mission

My name is Sister Ellen Magallanes. This will be a record of my missionary experiences as I serve in the Australia Adelaide mission (Dec 2013 - Jun 2015). Come witness my journey, my joys and sorrows, my triumphs and tribulations and I pray you will leave inspired and you will see and feel the love of God as it works miracles in my life, and in the lives of all of God's children.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Monday, June 15, 2015

preface

It is so difficult to leave your mission. This transfer I say would make
top 3 of most difficult transfers. Everything has been so wonderful. We find, we
teach, we invite, we baptise as befits our purpose. I think it helped that I
kept the fact that my time was up on the down low so I only really got ... two
days of people asking me post-mission plans? But I've been spending all this
time like I'll be here forever and the reality that I will not be.

I know I am going home, but I am leaving home as well - if you understand
me.

The people here, the experiences, knowing that today I made a
difference, today I helped someone draw closer to Christ, today I
walked the paths our Saviour would walk - one step after the other. It is a good
feeling. It is so good focusing on the spiritual.

buzzybriansbaptism

I keep asking - are we allowed to have favourite baptisms? Everyone's
journey is special and I am privileged to play a part in it, but having been
there from the beginning of the teaching process to the ordinance of baptism?
Wow, that's special!

Dannielle and Brother Finau gave really good talks. Tears may have been
shed. Dannielle spoke about repentance and baptism. She spoke about how
repentance is a gift, repentance means change. And that even if you forgot to
read your scriptures or did not pray that day, don't worry. That's what
repentance is for. Just start again tomorrow. Brother Finau was really funny, he
gave Brian baptism presents (and related it to his talk about the Holy Ghost) -
chocolate - representing fleeting happiness and a Captain America figurine -
representing putting on the armour of God. And some people that we met the day
before attended also with his family! He was a Seventh Day Adventist minister.
I'm glad he and his family came. His kids made friends with bishop's kids and he
said he enjoyed the service. :)

And then Sonny (his cousin) performed the baptism. And then Brian bore his
testimony! Sorry Brian if you read this and for quoting you so exactly but he
spoke about his spiritual journey. How he came from NZ for a fresh start to live
with his aunty and uncle and soon Brother Finau came to live with them (Brother
Finau had to finish his studies, so his family is in the US while he has to do
one more course!) and as soon as Brother Finau realised Brian was not a member
he started working on him. And Brian said he heard the word "repent" a hundred +
times a day, he'd be making his coffee in the morning and everybody would say
"repent" and he did not understand why they were saying that. But then the
mormon message "men's hearts shall fail them" changed his perspective. And he
also started crying - this 20y.o. guy, crying whilst bearing his testimony. His
family crying in the front row - especially his aunt who had not been to church
in so long.

And he pulled out a heart note that we gave him with Mosiah 18:10 written
on it to help him remember how he felt during that lesson. Now all that is
missing which sadly I really can't capture or convey through the medium of blog
would be the musical items. Hymns can really bring the Spirit. I have a firm
testimony of that.

This is one person's story. There are millions of members of the church.
This is why D&C 4 says "and now behold, a marvelous work and a wonder is
about to come forth among the children of men." This marvelous work is the
restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

conclusion

It would be so entirely impossible to sum up everything I've learned during
my mission and all the many ways that it has impacted me in one sentence, in one
paragraph - even a monster paragraph! So if you read, don't just read this
entry! Search around to capture a more holistic mission experience.

3 Nephi 5:13

Who am I? I have learned on my mission that I am not just "Ellen", I am
not just a comm/law student, a tutor, a reader, a romantic... All these things
that I thought I was were stripped away. All that was left was my testimony. I
am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I suppose I will once again slowly gather other
labels again, but I hope nothing hides my true identity. I am a child of God.
And so are you! Never forget it :)

Sister Soh took a photo of me walking in front of her at the temple. It
seems fitting.

Goodbye Adelaide. Goodbye blog. Goodbye ZAAM.

Now the true test is whether I live what I have learned. Until next time

Saturday, June 13, 2015

big girl pants

Sister Carter (our mission mum) has a saying. When things are tough, she
says in her American Mom voice "put on your big pants, honey!"

I'll tell you a secret - your last transfer requires big girl pants. I
haven't really spoken about it yet because quite frankly I think I was in
denial. But with less than one week to go, my companion says it would be unkind
to not say goodbye. My mission mum told me a lot more counsel but I kind of feel
like it will only relate when you are in that exact moment, otherwise it will
distract you? The Carter's are finishing their mission too! I will be their last
intake going home. We'll build beautiful zion again someday :)

faith

Something I've realised lately is that faith is not what I thought it was.
I thought faith was the complete absence of doubt, or maybe certain knowledge. I
thought that if your faith wasn't unshakeable, then it wasn't faith. But I've
learned that faith comes in all shapes and sizes. It is a gift from God. True
faith is shown when one moves and acts and reaches upwards and outwards despite
the doubt or questions which plague you and ask you to stop.

I really feel like the world today encourages you to discount your faith.
You can't prove it? It must not be true! Or science says this or the media said
that. Or move on with the times. Even myself, when I feel an inkling of doubt
and I feel so anguished because how could I doubt? How can I still have this
question?

I wonder if the things I am saying resonates with anyone. In any case, I've
learned that it is okay to admit that there are some things you don't know.
There are some things that mankind will never know, there are some things that
mankind cannot know because our finite mortal bodies and minds cannot even grasp
the concept of eternity. And when your crisis of faith comes, when, as Elder
Briscoe put it, an earthquake runs through your foundation of faith, the worst
thing you can do is cave into those negative thoughts! You know that God is
there and that He loves you. This past week there was this man who was awful to
us at the door. And Sister Soh said she knew the Saviour was with us. I asked
her, how did you know? Could you feel it? She said she couldn't feel it. She
just knew.

Trust yourself! Trust that sweet spirit. That's my advice to you and to
myself. And as you trust and you move forward, your faith grows. That's
faith.

There's so much more I could say and expound upon but I think I'll have to
wait until next personal study or the next time I give a talk!

This is so not what I intended to write hahaha. But maybe someone out there
needs it? Until next time! :)

PS

Book of Mormon class! ft. Brian who is being baptised this saturday!! and
brother finau and brother tuigamala.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Hello dear family/blog!

OKAY this past week has been so great! Except for Friday, Friday was a hard
day. Something about weekly planning seems to get me down, but we persevered and
my companion was like I don't know what to do do you want to talk someone? And I
didn't want to just yet I wanted to exhaust all the other avenues heavenly
father has given us so I went into the room and I tried to lie down because I
was tired but I was not sleepy (it is hard to discern sometimes what you need)
so instead I just prayed and when I ran out of words (which I do, even in prayer
sometimes) I just kind of meditated I suppose and I felt like that was really,
really good for my soul.

So I think I share this because a missionary will always share the
highlights but i don't think you can appreciate really how special the
highlights are unless you know that we suffer as others do, and we are under an
extraordinary amount of pressure and as we learn to rely on heavenly father,
that's what produces the miracles.

But let's not focus on the negatives because as I said this week was really
wonderful!

Our previous rescue had another Sunday off and came to church again! I love
that family so much. She's Filipino and whenever we come over she cooks a FEAST.
It reminds me of the Filipino parties you know with all the food on the table
and it is kind of like a buffet and I forgot that that was what I was used to
with all the western food I've eaten on my mission and how they give you your
own serving.. it was awesome. I had ube again! Hooray! And lots of spring
rolls.Anyway, she had been struggling a bit over the past few, well,
years... and almost losing her testimony and even considering going back to her
old church but we knew she had a testimony, and so we tried to fan the embers of
that testimony and she said she would try church just one more time before
shutting the door and she did and it was a wonderful experience! And she just
looked so happy. Sister Soh always says the gospel is so logical! You look at
that face and that manner, and even if you were blind I'm sure you could feel
her happy glow and you tell us that this isn't the fulness of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. You tell us that something that so obviously benefits her is not
from God. We've had too many experiences to doubt.

And what else has been happening?

Our investigator Brian had an interesting spiritual experience. First off
let me tell you about their family. They are Samoan + a Tongan family friend
living with them and the islander culture is quite different to the Aussie way
of life. it is similar to Filipino culture re food haha but ah I can't explain
it. it's just different. Anyway, we joined them for Family Home Evening last
night and our investigator was teaching us the lesson (role reversal, hey) and
also we had just had lunch with that family at another family's home and we
talked about standards (watched "Stay Within the Lines" it's a good one. I
recommend it) and that was good! And then the father of the home turned the time
to us and we talked about the b word, baptism and how his prayers were going etc
etc. And then he shared with us that interesting spiritual experience - with the
aid of Brother Finau.

So, I wish I could draw this for you haha but he was running along the
beach after work and the sun was setting and he was standing on some cliffs and
he realised that the sun rays were pointing directly to where he was, on the
cliff. He felt like God was speaking to him, giving him the signal but his reply
was "I'm not ready!"

Hahaha... so we talked about that and what was keeping him from entering
into that sacred covenant with heavenly father and we used the Book of Mormon to
allay his fears and we invited him to baptism for the date that we had prayed
about and he accepted.

Something else I love about teaching this family is that we seem to always
begin and end our lessons with hymns. And they are so good at singing - any hymn
we sing turns into a 4 part choir. And I love music and the Spirit that it
brings. I told Sister Soh, who needs iTunes when you have a hymn book?
hahahaha!

I've been thinking about the favourite moments of my mission and like you
hear missionaries say so many things but I wanted what i said to be real and
from the bottom of my heart and not just some cliche. And I think that honestly
the favourite moments of my mission have been when we have felt the Spirit in
the room and in the lesson and then invited our investigator to baptism. Elder
Holland described this in a talk "The Divine Companionship." The veil is thin,
hearts burn, sometimes tears are shed and nobody in the room would rather be
anywhere else. And then like that corny EFY song "I cry and say, this is what
matters. The truth is calling to you." I used to think that song was ridiculous
but I realised that it kind of is describing a true moment. And that moment is
the best. I think glimpses of this also happen whenever we find someone new to
teach, or we hear someone's very first prayer ever. But really something in
common with all of these moments is the presence of God's Spirit. My dad's
mission changed his life in so many ways but he told me something that I think
I'll always remember. He told me that the greatest blessing of all from his
mission (and mind you that's where he met my mum and boom 4 kids a house no dog
later) was the testimony that he received that God lives and that this is His
church. All he left on his mission with was the knowledge that the Book of
Mormon is true - but that's all you need to start, hey? I'm really grateful for
the rich heritage my pioneer parents have left me.

Attached are some photos!

district activity

some nice scenery from my pro companion except i think the resolution may
be small, sorry

eating a giant marshmallow from kyle and kirsty. it seemed like a good idea
but after 1/3 of the marshmallow i was kind of done with it. but i'm sure it
would work great over a fire!!

our lemon tree in the backyard - the colours are so bright and poppy

oh yes and at sister rowling's house. with the cat. I've developed an
interesting kind of relationship with dogs and cats on the mission. but in case
of any cat or dog lovers out there, I think I'll refrain from explaining the
nuances of it. But I'm really glad my family didn't get a little inside dog
while I've been gone. Hehehe.

This is the best work ever! Elder Holland says 'welcome to the work of
angels'. It's true. This work and the change that the restored gospel can make
in people's lives is nothing short of miraculous.

Thursday, May 28, 2015

TRADE OFFS

Trade offs!!!! I'm so happy I got to stay in my area - I love my area.
Sister Funaki came and we had a blast. A righteous blast. We went tracting and
there was this guy middle aged or so and he was drunk as and bless her heart
Sister Funaki she couldn't tell and we were talking to him and he was like "I'm
not interested" but Sister Funaki just got to know him and talked to him and
then he started asking questions like "so how do you know God is real?" "what
makes you come here to my door and think you can tell me what to do? I already
live a good life, why would I need God?" and the words just flowed and we
replied I was really grateful because I've kind of been struggling with loving
people lately - if that makes sense as in if someone is rude I just say thanks
have a nice day and nurse my wounds whereas a more loving missionary would see
past the rudeness and still try to help and still give love - so I was really
glad to be with Sister Funaki because she helped me see past the fact that he
was a drunk lone man at 5pm who had the signs of an alcoholic and who had made
some bad choices in his life. And I told him that I knew Heavenly Father loved
him, and I was able to tell him that because I just knew. And I knew that this
was what our mission was for. We aren't just sent to those that are ready, to
those who welcome us in with open arms, we are sent to help and serve. And that
man needed kindness that night. I asked him a question before we went (and he
will still a little aggressive) I asked him "are you even really happy?" and
then he almost started to cry and he said I hit the nail on the head and all
this bravado about how rubbish religion is really was just a covering for his
insecurities and sadness. It was so sad, I wish I could help more. He was pretty
adamant about no more religious talk but that was okay, we told him we would say
hello when we were in the area. I think serving in lower socio-economic areas is
very eye opening because growing up amidst it in Sydney, near it, not quite in
it, I was always taught to avoid, to hold your bag, not to make eye contact and
hopefully not to live near any housing commission. Which makes sense but as a
missionary ah you just start to love the people and you wish, you wish that you
could do more to help. But they have their agency.

So that was one tracting experience. I've had so many on my mission it all
just blends together.

And Sister Funaki is a star! She just radiates love. I wish I could be more
like that but I think I accept myself for who I am and I try to give where I
have. It's so good having the opportunity to serve with others.

LOCAL RADIO

Now this is another interesting story. So Sasha the one with the beanie has
been running a local live radio for Ramsay Place outside of Colonnades and we
saw her there right after lunch with Dannielle after an appointment in the
library (SO many things happened this week! it's so hard just picking the
choicest experiences...) and when we went over to see what she was doing with
that huge microphone we realised that it was live and it all started when she
asked me for my first name because that launched into discussion about "Sister"
and why I gave up my first name and what else I gave up and why on earth I gave
it up in the first place and what it is like being a missionary in Adelaide. And
then I told her about my two awesome friends Sister Funaki and Dannielle and she
interviewed Dannielle who has just come back from her mission in the Marshall
Islands!!!! Dannielle is so awesome. RM shines from her. I hope to be like that
also (: and she was able to share a bit about her mission experience also and
contacting I think has never been more fun! Haha!

POSH CHIP BUTTY

I'm not sure I told you about this but Marlene and Tom gave us a posh chip
butty. It is posh because of fancy bread and being cut in quarters. It is
Liverpool, England slang they said. It tasted really good and I am determined to
remember it - haha!!

We had a lot of fun trying to say "butty" the way they do. Australia is so
wonderful. So many cultures all in one!

MOSIAH 18:10

I love Mosiah 18:8-10. The words ring so true to me. And we had a really
choice experience with it with Brian yesterday night. Everybody shared testimony
to invite the spirit and then we shared Mosiah 18:8-9 and asked him what his
"spiritual desires" are. After ascertaining that they were to return to live
with God again and that they were very important to him, we asked him to read vs
10 out loud. And it stuck to him. Look it up! Read it yourself (:

I think watching him have a spiritual experience with the Book of Mormon -
because it is spiritual, you know, when you feel like these words written so
long ago are talking directly to you - was so wonderful. We pray a lot that our
investigators will have spiritual experiences. So that was really nice.

Okay I feel like I have so much more still to share about baptismal invites
and stake conferences and other lessons and members doing missionary work and
new people in our teaching pool but you are all probably getting tired so I will
close with a poem our mission president sent us. Sadly I empathise with it way
too much - especially the first two chapters? But that's okay! Christ helps us
through :) He fills all sidewalk holes. I know that is true.

There is a Hole in My Sidewalk

Chapter One:I walk down the
street.There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.I fall in.I am lost...I
am helpless.It isn't my fault.It takes forever to find a way
out.

Chapter Two:I walk down the street.There is a deep hole in
the sidewalk.I pretend that I don't see it.I fall in again.I can't
believe that I am in this same place.But, it isn't my fault.It still
takes a long time to get out.

Chapter Three:I walk down the same
street.There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.I see it is there.I
still fall in...it's a habit...but, myeyes are open.I know where I
am.It is my fault.I get out immediately.

Chapter Four:I walk
down the same street.There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.I walk around
it.

Chapter Five:I walk down another street.

Chapter Six:I
walked down the street with the hole in the sidewalk.... I kneeled down and
filled in the hole so that no one could fall in.

Missionary work is the best! It is so fulfilling being able to do what is
most important to me, my soul feels so full when I pray after a day full of work
because I can feel that I am doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do. Often it
is so easy to lose sight of the difference that one makes and it is so easy to
get bogged down because of my weaknesses, my limitations, shortcomings and sin,
but this is what prayer is for.

Serving a mission has definitely not always been easy, there have been many
times where I can't see past through to the next day, or even the next meal
break .... but the rapid ascents and declines I know are moving me upward.
Because I look back at my mission and my life and I know that I am stronger for
those experiences, I know that I am closer to Heavenly Father and my Saviour for
those experiences.

Maybe one day I'll learn how to get closer with suffering hahahhaaha but I
don't think so. Even our Saviour had to suffer to know what our mortal condition
would be like, even He once was cut off from the presence of our Father - He who
was without sin!

I know you may not be able to exactly know what it is like being a full
time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, maybe not
even ever, and perhaps if you have been, you won't know what it was like to
serve in Adelaide, and if you served in Adelaide, you won't know what it was
like to be me, serving in Adelaide. But my dad always says that a wise person
learns from the mistakes of others so I hope that reading the blog helps you to
learn heaps! And I hope even if I still accidentally use too much jargon you can
trust what you feel and have that taste of what missionary service is like. But
it is different for everyone! Testimony and conversion is such so unique. But I
hope that the sharing of my experiences adds some flavour and colour to your own
spiritual journeys, wherever you are on that path. Feel free to talk to me when
I am back.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

So last time I wanted to tell you about a recent convert couple Marlene and
Tom but then I so rudely ran out of time! (we are all very blessed it went
through last week because the computer started to shut down the moment I pressed
send - but I suppose there's a lesson in procrastination or time management in
that). Marlene and Tom joined the church maybe 18 months ago and they are
working to get sealed in the temple. They've been married for more than 50 years
and they are from Liverpool, England and I admire them both so much. When I was
last in the area we visited Marlene a lot because Tom was in hospital and when
we could we'd ask permission from our leaders to leave our area and visit Tom!
But now Tom is back at home and recuperating well. I think around 3 years ago,
after a morning jog, Tom had a stroke. And their lives changed forever. But then
the sisters knocked on their door! I remember Sister Christensen telling me
about the first time she taught them about prayer and how they could pray to God
directly and didn't have to pray through any saints for help. They've come so
far. And Tom has a talent for writing! I find his story really inspirational and
I think that the message of hope that it shares really is the gospel message. I
know that the Lord works in mysterious ways that we often cannot comprehend from
our mortal perspective. So here is an exerpt:

"I've met
some beautiful and wonderful, caring people since the stroke. I'd like to
dedicate this story to those people, to my wife and full time carer Marlene and
to those who are also struggling to recover. Don't give up. Don't give in to
hopelessness. I know I want to get back to the way I was. Love is my motivation.
This is a deep seated love for my wife. We've been married for fifty four years
now...

My first attempt at walking holding onto a bar was
actually a magical feeling. I'll tell you how that came about. One of the nurses
came into my room one day and said, "Tom, how would you like to go for a walk?"
I thought she was joking. I told her I couldn't walk. But she said, "You haven't
tried it with me yet have you? I'm going to take you for a walk down the
passageway, holding onto the wall bar. Don't worry about it, I'll be with you,
you'll be safe." So she wheeled me out to the passageway in the wheelchair and
positioned me next to the bar. She told me to stand and then took the chair
away, came back and told me to start walking slowly, taking steps. I just felt
so relieved when I took that first step. Then I took my second step, still
holding the bar, strangling the life out of it. I was holding the bar so
tightly. I took about ten steps and thought I was in some magical moment. I was
moving but nobody was pushing me, and I wasn't in the wheelchair. It was then
that I noticed the members of my family at the other end of the bar. They were
watching with a look of surprise and wonderment. My daughter was crying with
happiness. They thought they would never see me standing or walking ever again.
I am eternally grateful for that nurse. I wish I could remember her name. She
showed me how to walk. I think that maybe God sent her to me."

Something else that happened this week was weekly Book of Mormon
class! A member came with our investigator, he's playing like a fatherly and
mentor role for him right now as his family is in the States but he said
something that stood out to me. He said he had many friends from many different
religions and he asked them all, "how do you know your church is true?" And he
said all his friends said the same thing! And I tried to guess what they all
said but I couldn't think of it. And he said, they all say "I know my church is
true because we follow the Bible."

And I thought - what a paradox! All
of these different churches reading the bible and only the bible and purely the
bible yknow and yet following so many different traditions.

And we
were studying 2 Nephi 29 at the time (awesome chapter) and talking about how we
know our church is true. The member went on to explain that we are the only
church that does not base their authority on the Bible, but we use the Bible and
go to the author of all truth Himself, we ask God the Father, the author of all
truth, what is truth. And we get our answer. And we belong to The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

I feel like this is something I
understood as a child but something I had forgotten as I grew up somehow. The
world beckons - you know? But if we heed the still, small voice, we will not be
led astray.

So another wonderful week has passed in the ZAAM -
full of ups and downs.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

NUTTY

During our doorknocking adventures Sister Soh saw a sign that said "no
religious nutters." We thought that was fairly humorous but that it would be
disrespectful to take a picture BUT later that day we popped by our
investigator's house. His name is Keith. He is 85 but sharp as anything! In
fact, he is doing some online studies right now! But also something that
happened recently is that he got diagnosed with cancer. But he is facing the
future with as much hope as ever. Anyway, whenever we pop by he gives us
chocolate bars hehe but that morning he said he was out of chocolate bars and
gave us nuts instead. So it is a photo of two religious nutters. Because who
else goes tracting in the rain? We weren't quite nutty enough to actually take
the photo in the rain. HAHA but close enough!

FIRST PRAYERS

I think that hearing someone's very first prayer is one of the most special
experiences I've ever had on my mission. They met Anna on trade offs last week
and we met at the library for the first time last Saturday. She comes from a
church background where prayers are often done "speaking in tongues" which kind
of has always made Anna uncomfortable so at the conclusion of the lesson when we
invited her to pray she shied away from it. But then we taught her the true
doctrine of prayer! And we explained to her how the spirit feels - that
something of God will never make you feel uncomfortable but the fruits of the
spirit are joy, love, peace, comfort etc. And she gathered her courage and said
her first prayer and it was so sweet!! She's such a cutie pie. Her prayer went
like this, "Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for being in our lives. In Jesus'
name, Amen" but the spirit that was in the room was undeniable. Subtle, but
undeniable. Personally I just felt a lift. And when we asked her how she felt,
she said she felt refreshed which i thought captured the moment perfectly. And
it really is humbling to know that that's basically how the church was restored,
because of someone else's first prayer in a grove of trees. Humbly kneeling
sweet appealing, twas the boy's first uttered prayer. (#26) First prayers are so
wonderful.

GOOD CHEER

The other picture is of me and Sister Rowling! Sister Rowling is
remarkable. But what is remarkable isn't just that she's survived cancer (and is
making her way through another painful illness of sorts) - what is the most
remarkable about her is her absolutely beautiful spirit. She truly is of good
cheer. She does what she can. She is perturbed by the thought of death - and I
know I just said that in one sentence but it is just so amazing. Like I can say
it in one sentence "she isn't scared of death" but to truly not be scared, to
truly know .... I feel like so many people go entire lifetimes not understanding
this, even when death comes they still don't understand it. I would love for her
to be there when I go through my own future experiences and illnesses. I would
like to remember her spirit and attitude. And I love her conversion story!! But
hers is a little sacred to her and to me. So perhaps another day through another
medium. :)